Project Update: Prestone’s 1972 Javelin AMX by Ringbrothers

3D Scanning and Rapid Prototyping Speed the Progress

One of the project’s we’ve been anticipating for the past several months, Prestone’s 1972 AMC Javelin AMX is being built by Ringbrothers and has made some excellent headway since we were introduced to the project. If you’d like some history on the car, visit that introduction HERE. Since that introduciton, the Ringbrothers crew have used 3D scanning and 3D printing to make the plugs and molds they use for carbon fiber panels that will make up the bodywork from the A-pillar forward. Some of that handiwork can be seen in the fender, while the hood has been kept under wraps so far.

AMC door handles are a bit industrial and generic. The Ringbrothers design team came up with these replacements that were prototyped in plastic prior to being cut from aluminum.

We spoke with Prestone’s Vice President of Marketing Randy Fisher about the how the project came to be. Fisher has worked with Ringbrothers since 2011, before he came to Prestone, but this build didn’t start its planning phase until SEMA 2016. When Fisher and the Prestone team decided that they wanted to celebrate Prestone’s 90th Anniversary with a special car that could participate in more than a dozen events, the choice of builders was easy. Of course their reputation for building stunning cars that make a huge splash in the automotive aftermarket community was a major factor, but having the Ringbrothers shop in Wisconsin, not far from Prestone’s HQ in Chicago, also helped. Fisher’s longstanding relationship with the whole Ringbrothers organization sealed the deal. “They’re spectacular, down to Earth people,” Fisher said. A plan was hatched after a SEMA 2016 brainstorm session with the car’s unveiling set for SEMA 2017.

Prestone wanted the Javelin to be yellow, and Ringbrothers found a factory color that worked perfectly. Here’s the underside of the car getting heat shields for the exhaust.

Prestone wanted a head-turning muscle car build and it needed to highlight their company’s cornerstone product, their Cor-Guard antifreeze, so the color should be yellow. It also had to be fully functional, as Fisher said, “We didn’t want a showroom piece. We wanted a car that could be driven on a daily basis. They heard us loud and clear on that.” From there they were open to collaborating with Ringbrothers on which direction the build could go. Still, despite the project’s flexability, with such a tight schedule and such an ambitious build, progress had to be made right away. It turned out that the Rings had just the vehicle ready for this sort of build, which saved weeks of precious time. As you’ll see, the photos show a car undergoing a complete build from a bare metal shell, and the car will likely go down to the wire as SEMA quickly approaches.